'I'll start following the game again' - Actress Richa Chadha as 'first love' Rahul Dravid returns to Indian dressing room

Indian actress Richa Chadha revealed Rahul Dravid to be her first crush. Chadha admitted she did not follow cricket regularly but used to watch the game along with her brother at times only to watch Dravid, and stopped following the game once he “phased out” of the Indian team. Dravid announced his Test retirement in 2012, while he played his last limited-overs game in 2011.

“During my younger days, I was not a big fan of cricket. Yes, my brother used to play cricket. There were times when I would watch the game on TV. I loved watching Rahul Dravid play the game. Jab woh phase out hone lage I literally stopped following the game. My first mohabbat is Rahul Dravid,” Chadha quoted as saying by Times of India.

Notably, Dravid was only recently appointed as Team India head coach following Ravi Shastri’s tenure end after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE. He had a successful first assignment in the role of permanent head coach, as the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team defeated New Zealand 3-0 recently in the home T20I series.

Dravid previously headed the team in July during India’s limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka, when a second-string team travelled to the island nation for six white-ball games in the absence of most first-choice players, who were in the United Kingdom for the England Test series.

While the 47-year-old only stepped forward temporarily back then in the absence of India’s coaching staff including Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, who were all in the UK with the main team, Dravid has now taken over the role in a full-time capacity.

Even though not back in the scene as a player, Dravid in the Indian dressing room is enough motivation for Chadha, who said her interest in the sport is back. “I am going to start following the game once again now [as Dravid is back],” she said.

Dravid will now be with the Indian team that travels to South Africa for an all-format series in December and January.